Japanese Character Culture

Who would have thought that a cute little kitten with button nose, a bow on her ear and a blank space for a mouth would be the star not just of her Sanrio family but of the global character-goods market for 30 years? And that she may be the most successful of her peers, but the equally adorable Badtz Maru and his girlfriend Hana Maru, Pochacco, and the Little Twin Stars have been doing stellar in the market as well?

Remember the days when Pokemon started ruling the world and grew from 151 to the present 386 unique monsters? They are not just in our video games. They can now be found in our pillows, our lampshades, our cellphones, and in our coffee mugs as well.

With the way things are going in the global character market, it seems that the Japanese rules.